Metallosis, Major Side-Effect of DePuy Hip Failure

Metal-on-metal hip implants, like the DePuy Hip Recall and DePuy Pinnacle hip, have been linked to metal poisoning or metallosis, which could cause serious problems with the hip replacement. Symptoms often involve the development of pain, inflammation and difficulty walking as the metal-on-metal parts rub against each other and release debris or small metal fragments.Metallosis, or metallic poisoning, has been shown to cause the breakdownof bone marrow and white blood cells. A 2009 study in the United Kingdom of 660 DePuy Hip complications patients went further, linking metallic poisoning to problems such as vision loss, soft tissue and muscle damage, hearing loss and hip pain. 

Metallosis is characteristic of metal-on-metal or metal-on-polyethylene implants. It can lead to aseptic fibrosis, local necrosis or even help to cause metallic corrosion and increase the chances of DePuy hip failure.Approximately 1,000 patients have reported problems with their DePuy Hip Implants since 2005.  From only 2007 to 2009,
the FDA received over 600 adverse event reports from doctors who were evaluating patients returning with problems so severe that they required surgery to remove their implants.Experts have indicated that at least 13% of the 93,000 DePuy Hip patients who received the implant will need to undergo surgery to remove it. Specialized blood tests can be used to detect levels of toxic metal in DePuy hip implant patients. In some cases, patients have been found with 100 times the normal level of chromium and cobalt in the body.

As part of the DePuy Hip Recall issued on August 26, 2010, the company has indicated it will pay “reasonable and customary costs of monitoring and treatment” related to the recalled hip implants.  This may include the cost of revision surgery; however, it does not compensate patients for pain and suffering, lost time or wages, or the risk of undergoing a repeat surgery.In September 2011, data from the National Joint Registry for England and Wales indicated that the seven year failure rate for metal-on-metal hip replacements was 14%, compared with a failure rate of only 4.7% for all artificial hip implants. The DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip has been a particular problem, with a six year failure rate of nearly 30%.